Sewing machine and sticking calico together:

To make my first attempt at a patchwork wall hanging I used a sewing machine to stick my previous cyanotypes together. For the composition I moved each piece around and found placements that allowed the edges of each piece to more or less line up without looking to messy, however, for future pieces this is something that I will pay closer attention to as I want the work to look professional and put together. I have little to no experience with sewing machines and was struggling to figure out how to use the one at college, for my first attempt at a stitch I placed two of the cyanotypes together with one overlapping onto of the other and used the neon yellow thread that was already in the machine and the stitching was visible on the front of the work. For my next attempts I managed to get some help from someone more experienced and they showed me how to thread the machine properly, they also suggested a neater way of sewing by placing the calico pieces together and sewing along the back edge. This resulted in a neat stitch where the thread was not visible and a proper seam on the back of the piece. 

When I look at the finished result I appreciate how much cleaner the stitching with the seam is, it allows each section to blend in together flawlessly and helps the overall work seem cohesive. However, I find my self enjoying the contrast the the visible thread provides. The neon yellow clashes with the dark blue of the cyanotype and it seems to really stand out. I like that this allows a separation of each section, joining them but also allowing each piece to stand alone. I would like to experiment with some other bright colours, possibly green or pink and see how these tones would work with my cyanotypes. I would also like to try out some different patterns on the sewing machine, and see hoe I can incorporate these shapes into my work.